How Does a Hammer Drill Work?

Drilling equipment has been with us for quite a long time now; man has been known to have made use of drilling science since 4000 B.C.

To understand how a hammer drill works, we need to understand what a hammer drill has been made for. A hammer drill, also called a rotary hammer, roto drill, or hammering drill, is used for making holes on hard surfaces.

We need to often make holes in hard surfaces which can be made of cement, bricks or stones, so as to fix objects on the walls with the help of nails. We often need to fix things to a wall like frames, hangers, hooks, and so on, so as to make our rooms look spacious by utilizing wall space.

Besides home utilities, hammer drills are also used for industrial and construction work as holes might be needed in such as while assembling, attaching, coupling, and other works

The science of drilling

Have you ever tried making holes? Let us start with a thin object—a single sheet of paper. To make a small, neat hole, you will probably use a needle to pierce the surface with it. Now let is suppose you have layers of paper sheets and you want to make a hole that goes through all the layers.

In this case, you will find it difficult to make a hole just by piercing a needle; maybe if you start twisting the needle, you will get better results. And this is exactly where the science of drilling begins.

You need to have more sophisticated drillers for drilling a neat hole as the thickness and hardness of the surface increases. So, the science of drilling machines rests on the science of drilling or the science of screws, the science of pulverization or hammering, and science of friction, and these are all combined to make hammer drills.

Basic design of a hammer drill

A hammer drill typically consists of a drilling and hammering device, and this entire device is connected to an electric source.

When the power is switched on, the drilling part rotates, and the hammering part rapidly moves up and down to produce a hammering action. This is the mechanical effect of electricity, and this concept is used in fans, rotator motors and other electronic devices.

A very important component of the drilling device is the drill bit. Drill bits are generally made of substances having a high hardness index, and they resemble a screw.

A surface like a screw works on the principle of inclined plane mechanics, and greater linear force is achieved through such surfaces. Drilling bits are removable, and you can choose drilling bits of different sizes while beginning the drilling action, depending upon the depth of hole required.

External parts of a hammer drill

The drill is equipped with stops, chuck, a handle, switch and trigger to enable operational ease. Now let’s see how the inside of a typical hammer drill looks like

Internal parts of a hammer drill

Drill chuck screw: This is the drilling bit/screw

Chuck: This provides the surface and support to the drilling bit

Logo plate: Provides cover

Data plate: Provides cover

Handle: For holding and leverage

Rod: For positioning and leverage

Wear plate: Provides cover

Wing screw: For attaching the wings (drilling and hammering wings)

Types of hammer drills

Hammer drills can be of various types with different power requirements based on whether they are being used at home or in the industry; it will also depend on whether they are being used for light drilling purposes of short duration, or for heavy drilling purposes lasting for longer durations, and also upon the number of drillings required per unit time. If the surface is not very hard, then simple drilling machines (without the hammering part) will be adequate for the job.

Wireless and small hammer drills are suitable for light drilling purposes for drilling one or two holes at a time. Heavy industrial or construction drilling works require bigger and more powerful drilling equipment.

Hammer drills can be cordless, or with cords, they can be made to draw power from the mains, or even from batteries fitted inside their powering units.

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